Climate and average weather in Furukawa

In Furukawa, the summers are warm, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: early May to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Furukawa typically varies from -7°C to 26°C, and is rarely below -12°C or above 29°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Furukawa for warm-weather activities is from early May to late October.

Hottest
Aug
26°
Coldest
Jan
-7°
Wettest
Jul
278 mm
Driest
Feb
133 mm
Rain / yr
2154 mm
212 wet days
Daylight
9.5–14.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
491 m
36.2°N
Clearest
Oct
62% cloud

Furukawa weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early May to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Furukawa, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from June 4 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 20°C. The hottest month of the year in Furukawa is August, with an average high of 26°C and low of 18°C.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from December 6 to March 16, with daily high temperatures below 5°C. The coldest month of the year in Furukawa is January, with an average low of -7°C and high of 0°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights year-round.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan0-7
Feb1-6
Mar5-3
Apr122
May188
Jun2113
Jul2518
Aug2618
Sep2214
Oct168
Nov102
Dec3-4

How hot and cold Furukawa really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -11°C (around January 29), with roughly 152 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 40 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan00-10-7
Feb11-10-6
Mar55-6-3
Apr121202
May181878
Jun21211313
Jul24251718
Aug26261818
Sep22221414
Oct161678
Nov101002
Dec33-7-4

Average hourly temperature in Furukawa

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -7°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Furukawa weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -7°15521.422.19.80.0
Feb / -6°13317.917.210.60.0
Mar / -3°17217.813.311.70.3
Apr12° / 15815.53.812.92.8
May18° / 16314.80.213.95.0
Jun21° / 13°22017.7014.45.0
Jul25° / 18°27821.1014.25.0
Aug26° / 18°17918.8013.45.3
Sep22° / 14°21616012.25.5
Oct16° / 18214.50.211.14.6
Nov10° / 14115.94.810.11.9
Dec / -4°15920.616.79.60.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Furukawa gets about 2154 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 2.8 months, from around Jun 14 to Sep 5, peaking in July at about 73% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 19.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 278 mm over about 21 wet days; February is the driest, with 133 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 5 · 73%Oct 19 · 45%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan6921
Feb6518
Mar5718
Apr5116
May4715
Jun6018
Jul6821
Aug6119
Sep5416
Oct4715
Nov5316
Dec6621

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Furukawa collects about 2154 mm of rain across 212 wet days — roughly 179 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 278 mm, while February is the driest at just 133 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec155133172158163220278179216182141159
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1552122
Feb1331817
Mar1721813
Apr158164
May163150
Jun220180
Jul278210
Aug179190
Sep216160
Oct182150
Nov141165
Dec1592117

Snow in Furukawa

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Furukawa averages about 78 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 24 to May 7 — about 6.4 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 21 days of snow and an estimated 127 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 456 cm of snow.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 27
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan22127
Feb17120
Mar1377
Apr415
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov521
Dec1797

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Furukawa, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around July 24 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around November 30. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 44% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 27 and lasts for 1.9 months, ending around July 23. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 79% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 30 · 48%Jun 26 · 16%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2476
Feb2575
Mar3664
Apr4258
May3763
Jun2179
Jul2773
Aug3862
Sep3763
Oct4456
Nov4159
Dec3070

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 14 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 9 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 5 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.87:074:54
Feb10.66:475:25
Mar11.76:095:52
Apr12.95:246:19
May13.94:506:45
Jun14.44:387:05
Jul14.24:507:04
Aug13.45:146:37
Sep12.25:395:52
Oct11.16:045:08
Nov10.16:354:38
Dec9.67:014:34

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Furukawa averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.1 months, from around Jul 28 to Nov 29. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 8 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 3 sunny days — about 58% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedOct 269 daysJun 272 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan3Gloomy
Feb3Gloomy
Mar6Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun3Gloomy
Jul4Gloomy
Aug7Gloomy
Sep6Gloomy
Oct8Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec5Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Furukawa, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.2 months, from around June 19 to September 24. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 89% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 25 to June 18, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 14 · 100%Aug 5 · 4%muggycomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr99100
May94600
Jun4536163
Jul2185327
Aug2104544
Sep3029338
Oct881020
Nov100000
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Furukawa is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeMar 17 · 8 km/hAug 21 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar8calm
Apr7calm
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Furukawa

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Furukawa throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid May, Furukawa is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Furukawa for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 10 · 5.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.3poor
Apr2.7poor
May5.0fair
Jun5.0fair
Jul5.0fair
Aug5.3fair
Sep5.5fair
Oct4.5fair
Nov1.9poor
Dec0.1poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Furukawa for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 6 · 5.1

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Furukawa, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 26°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 0°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Furukawa sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 18°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 19 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Furukawa

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 66 km away) is warmest in August at about 27°C and coldest in March near 11°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 17 to Nov 3 — about 4.6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan13Bracing
Feb11Bracing
Mar11Bracing
Apr12Bracing
May16Cool
Jun20Cool
Jul24Refreshing
Aug27Warm
Sep25Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov19Cool
Dec16Cool

UV index (midday) in Furukawa by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Furukawa peaks around July 17 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highModerateJul 17UV 10Dec 22UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5High
Apr7Very high
May9Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Furukawa

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb40
Mar5.50
Apr73.5
May85
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep7.55
Oct5.50
Nov2.50
Dec00

Air quality in Furukawa by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Furukawa is worst in April — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (December, 10 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1719 µg/m³Dec 1510 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar18Moderate
Apr19Moderate
May18Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul13Moderate
Aug12Good
Sep11Good
Oct11Good
Nov10Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Furukawa typically lasts about 233 days, from around April 5 to November 23 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 27 to October 30.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2810%Apr 550%Apr 2790%Oct 3090%Nov 2350%Dec 2010%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan431
Feb528
Mar2331
Apr7226
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct971
Nov6530
Dec1731

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Furukawa banks about 1,317 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr1
May90
Jun212
Jul340
Aug368
Sep240
Oct65
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Furukawa receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.1 and 5.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 4 to Sep 15. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.6 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.2 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 255.7 kWhDec 132.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.4Moderate
Mar4.4Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.6Bright
Jun5.1Bright
Jul4.8Bright
Aug4.9Bright
Sep4.0Bright
Oct3.4Moderate
Nov2.5Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Furukawa?

Furukawa sits at 36.2°N, 137.2°E, 491 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Hida, 2.0 km away.

Topography around Furukawa

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Furukawa.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Furukawa has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 552 m around an average of 625 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,179 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,123 m.

The land around Furukawa is covered by trees (67%) within 3 km, trees (90%) within 16 km, and trees (80%) within 80 km.

3 km
552 m
16 km
1,179 m
80 km
3,123 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Hida 2.0 km · Takayama 13 km · Yatsuomachi-higashikumisaka 37 km · Nanto 40 km · Nanto-shi 45 km · Fukumitsu 46 km · Tonami 48 km · Gero 48 km

Japan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
100 V · 50 / 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$35,951
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 446
Religion
Shintoism 49%Buddhism 46%other 4%Christianity 1%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Furukawa (36.2333°, 137.1833°, elevation 491 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).